BERT FRAGNER MEMORIAL LECTURE 2022 - Florian Schwarz & Hessam Habibi Doroh

BETWEEN GREATER KHOROSAN AND THE KHOROSAN PROVINCE The continuity
of Greater Khorasan in the social identity of Iranian Sunnis in
Khorasan province

The Persian-speaking Iranian Sunnis of the Khorasan province feel
a  deep collective resonance with the historical roots of
Greater Khorasan  in their social identity. Even today, they
continue to praise and  illustrate the glorious Islamic past
through their narratives. This is  in contrast to most
Iranian Sunnis with a non-Persian-speaking ethnic  identity.


Historically Khorasan has long been recognized as the center of
Sunni  education. This dates back to the Seljuk period and
the establishment  of Sunni educational institutions such as
Nizamiyyeh of Niyshabur.  However, the central status of
this eastern region of the Islamic world  was diminished
following the 15th century – in particular, due to the early
16th-century  expansion of Shiʿi Islam under the Safavids.
Yet the sense or idea of  centrality has continued like a
thread weaving through the social  identity of the Iranian
Sunnis in Khorasan and remains reflected in  their religious
and historical narrations today. This lecture explores  this
continuity of Greater Khorasan, shows how the historical roots of
 Khorasan shaped the social identity of Sunnis in the
Khorasan province,  and investigates transnational identity
within the local social  identity.


BERT FRAGNER MEMORIAL LECTURE 2022


The Bert Fragner Lectures highlight current developments in Iran
and  establish connections between historical classification
and contemporary  challenges. Inspired by the life’s work of
the eminent Austrian Iranist  Professor Bert Fragner
(1941-2021), they offer a forum for exchange  with
established and – in the spirit of Bert Fragner’s tireless
 promotion of young scholars – younger researchers.